Why I want to read books with protagonists of color to my White son

Why I want to read books with protagonists of color to my White son

by guest blogger Suzanne Feinspan I loved reading as a kid. Weekly trips to the library and monthly ones to the bookstore were some of the highlights of my childhood.  I still have a strong sentimental attachment to many of…

Leo Lionni's "A Color of his Own": Cross-race versus same-race spaces

Leo Lionni’s “A Color of his Own”: Cross-race versus same-race spaces

by Sachi Feris As a long-time reader of Leo Lionni, it surprised me that Google searches of Lionni’s books did not yield lessons plans explicitly discussing race, since many of his books speak to themes of racial identity and the…

My son likes the color pink: Facing gender stereotypes

My son likes the color pink: Facing gender stereotypes

by guest blogger Clint Edwards I was sitting on the sofa next to my eight-year-old son, watching Pokémon, when he let out a long breath and said, “Dad, I like pink.” He wouldn’t look me in the eye, as though…

Politics Aside: My brown-skinned, Jewish American son reacts to Donald Trump

by guest blogger Janet Alperstein, Ph.D Regardless of your political affiliation, I hope you will take a moment to read about how a young Jewish American and Latino boy is experiencing the 2016 presidential, frequently as a result of what…

What happened when I defined sexism for my daughter

What happened when I defined sexism for my daughter

by guest blogger Jennifer Harvey Soccer’s been in my blood since I was little. Watching my kids learn to love it has been awesome. For the first time last fall, my seven-year-old played with girls instead of playing co-ed. I wasn’t…

Why it is my job to explain White privilege to my almost four-year-old

Why it is my job to explain White privilege to my almost four-year-old

by Sachi Feris A couple of months ago, I was singing a bedtime song to my daughter and she interrupted with, “Mamma, sometimes in the morning when I wake up my pillow is wet.” It was a statement with the…

“You should not oppress the stranger, because we were strangers…”: Race, Justice, and Freedom at Hebrew School

“You should not oppress the stranger, because we were strangers…”: Race, Justice, and Freedom at Hebrew School

by guest blogger Ari Lev Fornari Standing in front of a room of about 140 K-seventh grade students and their parents on the Sunday before Martin Luther King Junior Day, I introduce the topic for the day: Race, Justice, and…

Taking off my racial color-blind lens

Taking off my racial color-blind lens

by guest blogger Kelly Cutler Let’s be honest, what does a White woman like myself know about raising race conscious children?! I was raised in predominantly White, middle-class suburb with a culture that emphasized meritocracy, the idea that individuals succeed…

My son sees segregation…what does that mean for a race conscious parent?

by guest blogger Julie Roberts-Phung This post is part of a week-long series highlighting supporters of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), both in their parenting of race-conscious children and their activist work for racial justice. SURJ is a national…

How my White family will fight Islamaphobia

How my White family will fight Islamaphobia

by guest blogger Zoë Williams This post is part of a week-long series highlighting supporters of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), both in their parenting of race-conscious children and their activist work for racial justice. SURJ is a national network of…